S.I. No. 42/1976:

FACTORIES (TINNING OF METAL HOLLOW-WARE, IRON DRUMS AND HARNESS FURNITURE), REGULATIONS, 1976.

FACTORIES (TINNING OF METAL HOLLOW-WARE, IRON DRUMS AND HARNESS FURNITURE), REGULATIONS, 1976.

I, MICHAEL O'LEARY, Minister for Labour, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 6 , 8 , 20 , 53 , 57 and 71 of the Factories Act, 1955 (No. 10 of 1955), and the Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1966 ( S.I. No. 164 of 1966 ), after consultation with the Minister for Health and after due compliance with the provisions of the Third Schedule to that Act, hereby make the following regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Factories (Tinning of Metal Hollow-Ware, Iron Drums and Harness Furniture) Regulations, 1976, and shall come into operation on the 1st day of March, 1976.

2. The Tinning of Metal Hollow-Ware, Iron Drums and Harness Furniture Regulations, 1909 (S.R. and O., 1909, No. 720), are hereby revoked.

3. In these Regulations--

"the Act" means the Factories Act, 1955 (No. 10 of 1955);

"appointed doctor", as respects any factory, means the certifying doctor for the district in which the factory is situated, or a registered medical practitioner specially appointed by written certificate of the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations;

"efficient draught" means localised ventilation effected by heat or mechanical means for the removal of fumes or dust so as to prevent the fumes or dust, as far as practicable, from escaping into the air of any room in which work is carried on;

"health register" means the register kept pursuant to Regulation 10 of these Regulations;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Labour;

"mounting", "denting" and "scouring" mean respectively the mounting, denting and scouring of hollow-ware articles tinned on the outer surface;

"suspension" means suspension from employment in tinning by written certificate in the health register signed by the appointed doctor;

"tinning" means the dipping and wiping, in the manufacture of metal hollow-ware, iron drums or harness furniture, of any metal in the process of coating it with a mixture of tin and lead or with lead alone, being a process in which hydrochloric acid or any salt of that acid is used, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

4. These Regulations shall apply to every factory in which tinning is carried on.

5. The Minister may (subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified therein) by certificate in writing (which he may in his discretion revoke at any time) exempt from all or any of the requirements of these Regulations any factory where he is satisfied that the requirements in respect of which the exemption is granted are not necessary for the protection of persons employed or are impracticable.

6. (1) Subject to paragraph (3) of this regulation, tinning shall be carried on if, and only if, an efficient draught is provided.

(2) An article being tinned shall not be removed from the draught during the period beginning when the dipping is commenced and ending when wiping is completed.

(3) This regulation shall not apply to the wiping of sheet metal 450 millimetres or more in length where a person is wiping the sheet metal for use by him in some other process of work at the relevant factory.

(4) For the purposes of this regulation, a draught shall not be regarded as being efficient if it fails to remove smoke generated at the point where fumes or dust originate.

7. A person under 18 years of age who is employed in a factory to which these Regulations apply shall not be so employed in tinning.

8. The skimmings from a dipping bath shall not be removed from under the draught provided pursuant to Regulation 6 of these Regulations until they have been placed in a covered receptacle. When so removed they shall not be deposited in any room in the relevant factory in which work is carried on.

9. The dust and refuse collected from the floor at a place where tinning is carried on shall not be deposited in any room in the relevant factory in which work is carried on.

10. A health register containing the names of all persons employed in tinning in a factory to which these Regulations apply shall be kept at the factory in a form approved for the time being by the Minister.

11. (1) Every person employed in tinning shall be examined by the appointed doctor once in every calendar month and due notice of the date on which a person is to be examined pursuant to this regulation shall be given to him.

(2) The appointed doctor shall have power of suspension as regards all persons employed in tinning, and no such person after suspension shall be so employed without written sanction from the appointed doctor entered in the health register kept at the relevant factory.

(3) A record of every examination pursuant to this regulation and of the date thereof, signed or initialled by the appointed doctor, shall be entered in the health register.

12. (1) A cloakroom or other suitable place separate from any room in which work is carried on, for clothing put off during working hours, shall be provided by the occupier of a factory to which these Regulations apply for the use of all persons employed in tinning.

(2) Aprons, or other apparel which affords equal protection, shall be provided by such occupier for the use of all persons while employed in tinning.

13. There shall be provided by the occupier of a factory to which these Regulations apply for the use of all persons employed in tinning, mounting, denting or scouring, a room separate from any room in which such work is carried on, where such persons may have meals. The foregoing provisions shall not apply in relation to a factory which is closed during meal intervals.

14. (1) As regards a factory to which these Regulations apply, washing facilities provided in accordance with section 53 of the Act for the use of persons employed at the factory in tinning, mounting, denting or scouring shall be washing facilities which are adequate and suitable for the use of all of the persons so employed and where practicable be reserved for their exclusive use. The said facilities shall be kept in a clean and orderly condition and be under cover and shall be immediately accessible or, where this is not reasonably practicable, conveniently accessible, from any workplace at which persons are so employed.

(2) The said facilities shall include clean running hot and cold or warm water, soap, non-abrasive nail brushes and clean towels, and, in addition, either--

( a ) a trough with a smooth impervious surface of such length (or, in the case of a circular or oval trough, of such circumference) as to allow sixty centimetres of length for every five persons making use thereof and fitted with suitable jets or sprays serving each sixty centimetres of length or circumference (as the case may be) and with a waste pipe without plug, or

( b ) for every five such persons at least one basin with a smooth impervious surface of suitable size fitted with suitable jets or sprays and with a waste pipe.

(3) Where the number of persons employed in tinning, mounting, denting or scouring in a factory to which these Regulations apply is not a multiple of five, for the purposes of this regulation the number of persons so employed shall be regarded as being the next higher number which is a multiple of five.

15. It shall be the duty of every person employed in tinning at a factory to which these Regulations apply to present himself at the appointed time for examination by the appointed doctor pursuant to Regulation 11 (1) of these Regulations.

16. A person employed at a factory to which these Regulations apply in tinning shall not--

( a ) after suspension, work at tinning without written sanction from the appointed doctor entered in the health register,

( b ) interfere in any way, without the concurrence of the occupier of the factory, with a means or appliance provided for the removal of dust or fumes or with any other thing provided pursuant to these Regulations.

17. It shall be the duty of a person employed at a factory to which these Regulations apply in tinning, mounting, denting or scouring to wash his hands before partaking of food at or leaving the factory premises.

18. It shall be the duty of a person employed in tinning, mounting, denting or scouring at a factory to which these Regulations apply not to keep or prepare or partake of any food or alcoholic drink in any room in the factory in which such work is carried on.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23rd day of February, 1976.

MICHAEL O'LEARY,

Minister for Labour.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations provide for the safety, health and welfare of persons employed in factories where tinning is carried on.